Inspire Me Friday - Shopping Shenanigans!

A few things before we start:

A) Sorry for the late post, this particular segment is a little more time-consuming to put together.
B) I am not and have never been compensated for a SINGLE opinion or review on this blog. If it ever happens, I will absolutely disclose that. Know though, that regardless, my honesty shall never be compromised (that being said, I'd love to review items from ANY of the stores mentioned in my blog! email me at frugalistafatshionista[at]yahoo[dot]com)

This segment will be dedicated to reviews of places to get your fatshion! I'll be looking at online stores, boutiques, independent labels...but no matter what, it'll be places that I have personal experience with. People are always asking me where to buy certain things online, how easy it is to actually purchase from a particular retailer, whether lines tend to run true-to-size, so this will be my platform to get all that information out there, one retailer at a time.


This month, I'll be talking about one of my favorite places to shop, and in fact a staple in my wardrobe since I was in high school, Old Navy.

Some of the looks I've rocked with Old Navy apparel:

Old Navy Tunic

Old Navy Blouse

Old Navy Trouser Jeans and Black Cardi-Coat

Old Navy Shorts

What To Buy Here: I buy EVERYTHING here! Jeans, blouses, t-shirts, shoes, you name it! I've never bought undergarments here, so I can't comment on that, but I buy socks here, workout apparel, swimwear...ALL of my flip-flops and most of my ballet flats (which together make up about 80% of my shoe collection)...I'm particularly fond of their dresses and jeans. Up until about a year ago, the vast majority of my wardrobe WAS Old Navy, so safe to say, I am a fan.

Website: The website is easy to navigate...everything is very well organized by genre and size, and even when you click on an item, it lets you know right away whether or not it is available in every size and color shown. The "add to bag" feature also acts as a wishlist, because whatever you choose not to buy right away stays "in the bag" indefinitely until that particular item in that size runs out of stock. The clothes are usually shown on relatively size appropriately mannequins, so you can tell it's meant for bigger women, but because there are no models, you can't really tell how a garment will fall on curves (which is about the same as any site WITH models, considering they're all teeny)...Each item has reviews and ratings listed underneath to help you decide whether or not an item is for you, or whether you should size up or down, etc.

Prices: Their prices are not at all bad considering the quality of the clothes (which some people complain about, but you're getting what you pay for, plus I still have shirts that are 5-6 years old that have gotten and continue to get plenty of use with no problem)...Old Navy tends to have sales like, every other day, so that doesn't hurt the bottom line, either. You can expect to pay $10-$20 for a top, unless it's a promotional item, like their Independence Day shirts, which tend to be cheaper...and $20-$40 for bottoms. 

Sizing: The sizing tends to be iffy...I'm used to the fluctuations, but that seems to be everyone's biggest pet peeve with Old Navy. I find that if you make sure to go over the reviews, they can be very helpful to determine whether you should order true to size, etc. As with any online shopping, know your measurements and compare them to the size chart before ordering, to make sure the items are a right fit for you.


Delivery: Old Navy is usually pretty quick...I can count on my stuff reaching me in about a week consistently when I select the free shipping, which is offered any time you spend $50 or more. They also give tracking numbers so you can see exactly when your items should be arriving.


Returns: Returns are FREE! Which is awesome, except that the reason they are free is because you can't make plus-size returns in store. That would make life WAY easier, but then again, they don't have the plus-sized line for sale in the stores either, so you couldn't really exchange anything...It would still be great in the cases where you just want your money back, but alas, as of right now it just is not happening, but the returns process is relatively painless and free, as I mentioned, so shop and return at your leisure!


Quality: The quality of some Old Navy clothes is...questionable. It used to be pretty good considering what you were paying for it, but in the past couple of years, I find myself examining every inch of fabric from each of my purchases before committing them to my closet, because the fabric of most items is thinner and might have random holes or piling. In these cases, you can return the items and get replacements, and usually the problem will be solved. Obviously this is another problem that would be solved by having the plus-sized line in-store, so you could inspect your clothes BEFORE buying them, but we're still holding out for that privilege...I say again, if reviews on an item you're coveting are available, check them out to see if there seems to be a recurring problem...you might want to skip that item altogether.


So, there's my review! I hope this helps anyone out there that is newer to fatshion or online shopping, and if you have any questions regarding Old Navy, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them or to find the answer for you.

If you have a fatshion store/boutique you'd like me to review, or if you would like to be a Featured Fashionista, please contact me at frugalistafatshionista[at]yahoo[dot]com

Related note: I am willing to do product reviews. Just send me an email at frugalistafatshionista @ yahoo.com. My reviews are always 100% honest, & I will only accept items that are relevant to my blog.

Inspire Me Friday - Shopping Shenanigans!

A few things before we start:

A) Sorry for the late post, seeing as it's Saturday. I hope you'll forgive me ;)
B) I hope you like the alliteration in the title lol
C) I am not and have never been compensated for a SINGLE opinion or review on this blog. If it ever happens, I will absolutely disclose that. Know though, that regardless, my honesty shall never be compromised (that being said, I'd love to review items from ANY of the stores mentioned in my blog! email me at frugalistafatshionista[at]yahoo[dot]com)

Moving on...

I wanted to add another segment in the rotation for Inspire Me Friday...this segment will be dedicated to reviews of places to get your fatshion! I'll be looking at online stores, boutiques, independent labels...but no matter what, it'll be places that I have personal experience with. People are always asking me where to buy certain things online, how easy it is to actually purchase from a particular retailer, whether lines tend to run true-to-size, so this will be my platform to get all that information out there, one retailer at a time.


This month, I'll be talking about the first plus-size retailer I ever truly embraced, Torrid.

Some of the looks I've rocked with Torrid apparel:

Torrid Graphic Tee

Torrid Tube Top and Blazer

Torrid Corset Belt

Head to Shin Torrid (cuz the shoes are Old Navy lol)

What To Buy Here: I like to get damn near everything here, actually! LOL They don't have much in the way of basic tees, but they have all sorts of pants and jeans...Source of Wisdom jeans in particular are probably my favorite thing on earth right now. SO comfortable and they come in 5 different inseams! I love Torrid for casual and cocktail dresses, though their selection of the latter tends to be limited. Every swimsuit and board short I own is from Torrid, as well. I especially like their range of wide width shoes and boots, though I had to return both a pair of knee high and thigh high boots because they were too tight around the leg for me.

Website: The website is very well organized. There are different categories for types of apparel, what's new to the site, and a clearance section. Each section is organized into subsections, which can be further broken down into different price points and by size. I love this, because there's few things worse than seeing something amazing and realizing it cannot be yours because they only have the smallest size left...With this feature, out of sight, out of mind LOL You also get to keep an infinite wish list which lets you know when something is out of stock, but leaves it to you to remove the item at your discretion.

Prices: To be perfectly frank, I buy from Torrid literally 2-3 times a month...but only when something is on clearance, or better, when clearance is half off. I stalk the items on my wish list until they are discounted, then pounce. I don't recall EVER buying anything full price on Torrid. This can be tricky though, because once an item in on clearance, it cannot be returned, so this might a strategy best left to someone that has been shopping Torrid for 5 years like me (LMAO or maybe not quite as long as me, but someone that is experienced with their sizing, etc).

Sizing: Basically, if it's so cheap that you won't cry if it doesn't fit, or if you KNOW it'll fit, clearance all the way. If you're unfamiliar with Torrid, you should probably order a regular priced item so that if it doesn't fit, you can return or exchange it. In my experience, Torrid runs true to size, and they will usually let you know in the description of an item if it tends to run small, which is AWESOME. As with any online shopping, know your measurements and compare them to the size chart before ordering, to make sure the items are for you. Torrid runs from size 0-5, which is an equivalent of 12-32. Again, check the size chart for conversions.


Delivery: I've never had a problem with Torrid being crazy late with a package, or getting a package lost, in the 5+ years I've been buying from them. I don't have a Torrid near me for over 300 miles, so every single thing I've ever bought from them has been online, and it has been A LOT over the years. They send you email alerts when your items ship, and a tracking code so you can follow your package all the way to your door.


Returns: I've only had to return those boots I mentioned earlier, and since I had never gone through the return process with them before, I decided to send an email to a customer service rep. She got back to me within a few hours and explained the process to me very nicely. You do have to pay for return shipping, which is taken out of the refund amount, but the process is very quick. I got my money back 2 weeks after I initiated the return, which is way faster than any other return I've done elsewhere. I have had just this one experience, so it might have been a fluke, but I was satisfied with it.


Quality: The only problem I've ever had with quality at Torrid has been with their shoes, a pair of which broke in half upon first wear a couple years ago. The top of the wedge completely came off mid-step. I had gotten the shoes on clearance, so they were unreturnable. Other than that though, I've never had a complaint about quality in all the years and all the orders Torrid and I have had together LOL Then again, keep in mind that I DO NOT pay full price for Torrid garments EVER, so I am comparing quality for what I get them for. If you pay full price, you might be expecting more. Again, if you are unfamiliar with Torrid, try them out with a non-clearance item so you can return it if you aren't satisfied, but once you are familiar with your size there, you'll find you can order boxes and boxes of clearance things and never be let down :)





 So, there's my review! I hope this helps anyone out there that is newer to fatshion or online shopping, and if you have any questions regarding Torrid, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them or to find the answer for you.


If you have a fatshion store/boutique you'd like me to review, or if you would like to be a Featured Fashionista, please contact me at frugalistafatshionista[at]yahoo[dot]com

Casual Plus...a review!

I got a suggestion from Megan, one of my readers, to check out Casual Chic because they had clothes that's "either really nice or fugly"...I was sold! LOL With a description like that, I HAD to check it out for myself!

I will agree with Megan that the picture of the stoic Asian lady at the top of the page is a little...wtf? But I trudged on and checked out the size chart. They work with Junior Plus sizes, so the letter sizes and number sizes might not coincide the way we're used to (ex. a 24 is usually 3x, but here it's a 5x), though it is ALWAYS a good idea to check size charts EVERYWHERE because your "size" may vary store to store and even brand to brand, but your measurements are pretty reliable.

I don't LOVE the website layout, but it wasn't so hard to navigate that I quit...also I noticed they were paypal verified and certified, and while anyone can just stick that little graphic on their website, I trust paypal overall to get my money back for me if something is fishy, so them accepting paypal alone kept me on their site. I don't personally feel comfortable paying for something with a credit card if it is not a well-known merchant...

So...I browsed and browsed, and Megan had it right. Everything was either really cute or just plain fugly, not a whole lot of in-between...I really liked a lot of the styles, but the fabrics looked questionable. I decided to go out on a limb (mostly because they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee) and bought 2 pieces so I could judge the actual quality for myself.

Facade stripe print blouse, $18.99

Trendy cancan mini dress, $29.99

One thing I did REALLY like is that the descriptions are SUPER detailed, even letting you know the finish of the fabric (sheer, shiny, etc) which is something that is usually hard to gauge online and can lead to disappointment upon arrival of something you THOUGHT would be completely different.

So, now we wait for the items to arrive! Thanks again to Megan for letting me know about this place, and if any other readers would like to suggest a place to get great plus sized clothes, whether online or in Miami, FL, please let me know! Comment the blog or email me at FrugalistaFatshionista@yahoo.com


:EDIT: 100TH POST! :)